October 5th, 2018
Boat Show
The show opened yesterday and what a manic day we had for the boat was swamped. Met lots of lovely people as well as catching up with many Ocean Cruising Club members. The night before I had the pleasure of speaking to an OCC dinner and invited them round. Its a lovely club full of fascinating people for to be a member you have to have done a 1,000 mile passage. They are all serious cruisers with lots of stories and advice.
October 5th, 2018
Last Boat in the Show
What a fun day Wednesday was for we were the last boat to enter the Annapolis Boat Show. They build a Marina just for the Show. In fact they build it around the boats as they are shepherded in. It reminded me of sheep pens as we were were bolted in - there's no leaving.
September 30th, 2018
Sunrise
Its getting darker here and I really notice it in the mornings for I am an early riser. Its also getting colder or perhaps I should say cooler. We put thermal bottoms on for the first time in ages the other day and liked it! That said the day before was terribly hot to the point that one couldn't do anything so we retreated to an Irish Bar. Turned out to be a nice afternoon hic hic.
We left at dawn this morning for Annapolis and as you can see the Chester River was stunning.
September 29th, 2018
Brickwork
Just had to take a picture of this lovely old brickwork laid down by a master who had real pride in his job. It's interesting as you go from town to town for they have distinct architectural influence from either the French or English, it's quite marked.
September 29th, 2018
Bad Alfreds Distillery
On returning to Baltimore we sailed and motored for seven hours to get to Chestertown which is at the top of the Chester River and it is worth the effort. We are anchored in the river and its busy with Crab fishermen plying up and down their line of pots. They whip them up to claim a catch and drop them back to carry on down the line in a seemingly endless cycle. Washington College is here and they are big on rowing so there is everything from singles to eights pulling their way up and down the river followed by noisy coaches with megaphones. This morning we saw the first squadrons of geese arrive for the winter, hundreds and hundreds of them. Amazingly noisy as they all honk away from above - something that I have read about and always wanted to see.
This is Josh who gave me a course on distilling - we had popped into Bad Alfreds Distillery for a pizza lunch as they have a proper wood fired oven. It was from Josh that I learned the best way to taste spirit it to dip your finger and then run it from the back of your tongue to the front - try it, its amazing. Always good to meet someone passionate about their trade.
September 29th, 2018
Fenders
I just had to share this picture from Baltimore marina where there was a line of six power boats with eight fenders between them. Admittedly you could moor the boat to a pontoon either side but it still put me on a back foot. They were all new and this was the best fendered of the lot!
September 29th, 2018
Tug
This is as we motor up to Baltimore and it's a typical sight here as tugs distribute trade on barges. We are heading into Baltimore as Tracey and 'Pearl' need to be tucked up in a Marina for a week as I am off to the UK for a work spanning Scotland to the Hamble. The funny thing is that having dodged a big bullet with Florence veering south I got off the plane in Edinburgh to be hit by a storm the next day!
September 29th, 2018
House Build
Tracey and I love building so it's been very interesting to see the difference in construction here. This is a typical build, it's all stud work clad in chip board and dressed to look like something more substantial. The tiles are self-adhesive with a sticky back - peel off the backing paper and slap it down. Don't be taken in by the brick house on the left for the bricks are just a thin fascia board nailed on with gun. I think it's a good system but they won't be about in three or four hundred years like some of the old places we take for granted in the UK. Sign of the times I guess.
